Brothers At Arms, by John J. Horn

“Lawrence and Chester Stoning are twins, but like Jacob and Esau of old they have little else in common. Lawrence is a realist, fascinated by the study of science, mathematics, and history, while Chester longs for the knightly adventures of chivalrous times past — hard-fought battles, gold-filled caves, damsels in distress.

“When Chester’s impetuosity engages the unlikely pair as bodyguards to a Spaniard and his beautiful ward Pacarina, the twins quickly realize that the 19th century calls for a chivalry of its own. Protecting Pacarina’s secret leads all of them into the steaming jungles and dizzying mountains of Peru, a foreboding territory made all the more dangerous by Lawrence and Chester’s strivings against each other. Can the twins learn to trust God and work together before it’s too late? Or will they fall prey to the mysterious schemes of Pacarina’s enemy — an enemy they know nothing about?” ~cover and synopsis from johnjhornbooks.com

Title: Brothers At Arms

Author: John J. Horn

Genre(s): Christian YA Fiction

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (four stars)

Romance Content: There is some talk of love, people getting married, etc, and SPOILER!! a couple does get married in the end SPOILER END!! but I think it was appropriate. (Except for a point that I mention in the review.)

Recommended age range: 13+, because of the large vocabulary and because there is quite a bit of deaths, slightly detailed. (However, I am aware of those younger than 13 reading this, so I guess it’s up to you!)

My Review:

This was an action-packed book!! Although it’s probably meant to be for boys, I found it very interesting, intriguing, and the writing was very well done! There were vivid descriptions, and many long words, most of which I understood the meaning of. 😉 (It is from the point of view of a very well-read and -educated person.)

Things I did like:

• one of the MCs was witnessing to a Catholic, and had some good points… you don’t see that often in books!
• the references to the fact that luck was not involved in situations; God was
• the main point that siblings should work together
• the adventure 😀

I enjoyed reading this book, but there were a couple of things which I did not agree with:

• SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!! At one point, the main characters fall into the hands of natives which want to kill them but do not when they see that one of the main characters has an interesting birth mark. The natives think that the MCs are gods and worship them as such. The MCs go along with this, and that is the part that I do not agree with. Paul and Barnabas were in a similar situation (although their lives were not threatened), and this is what they did: “Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:” (Acts 14:14,15) Arguably, the MCs of this book were in a slightly different situation, since if they had revealed themselves to be just men, the natives might have killed them, but I still can’t agree with it.
• The MCs (young men) do touch a young lady, but mainly to protect her. For much of the book, they have a brotherly relationship with her, although they are not related. I still don’t think young people should touch each other, though.

With these points in mind, I am giving this book four stars. It was an excellent book, but I do have some reservations. However, I would still recommend this book to those who enjoy adventuresome Christian fiction.